The latest book in the Core Concepts in Higher Education series brings to life issues of governance, organization, teaching and learning, student life, faculty, finances, college sports, public policy, fundraising and innovations in higher education today. Written by renowned author John R. Thelin, each chapter bridges research, theory and practice and discusses a range of institutions – including the often overlooked for-profits, community colleges and minority serving institutions. In the book’s second edition, Thelin analyzes growing trends in American higher education over the last five years, shedding light on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He covers reconsideration of the rights of student-athletes, provides fresh analysis of the brick-and-mortar campus, and includes a new chapter exploring school admissions, recruitment and retention. Rich end-of-chapter "Additional Readings" and "Questions for Discussion" help engage students in critical thinking. A blend of stories and analysis, this book challenges present and future higher education practitioners to be informed and active participants, capable of improving their institutions.
Series Editor’s Introduction Preface Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Higher Education Inside and Out 2. Bricks and Mortar: Redesigning the American Campus 3. Admissions and Attrition: Enrollment Management 4. Teaching and Learning 5. Students and Student Life 6. Faculty and the Academic Profession 7. Governance and Organization: Structures and Cultures 8. Fiscal Fitness: Budgets and Finances 9. Intercollegiate Athletics: Higher Education’s Peculiar Institution 10. Public Policies: The Campus and Federal, State, and Local Governments 11. Fund-Raising and Philanthropy: The Nonprofit Sector 12. Research and Development: The Enterprising Campus 13. Colleges and Consumerism: Cost and Price of Higher Education 14. Innovations and Internationalizations in American Higher Education 15. Beyond Business as Usual: Continuity and Change 16. Crises and Credibility: American Higher Education Reconsidered
Biography
John R. Thelin is University Research Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy at the University of Kentucky, USA. He is Past President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and received the ASHE Outstanding Research Award. He is also the recipient of the 2023 University of Kentucky Libraries “Medallion for Intellectual Achievement."
Praise for the First Edition:
"To chart a path for the future, we need an understanding of the past. Thelin provides that understanding in a book that is erudite, thoughtful, provocative, and funny."
William G Tierney, Wilbur Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and Co-director, Pullias Center for Higher Education, University of Southern California, USA
"Drawing on his years of work as a preeminent historian, John Thelin presents a portrait of American higher education that is both an artistic collage and a scholarly historical analysis. Examining the full range of institutional types, this book is a valuable resource to those deeply familiar with universities and colleges, as well as those new to the study of higher education. Professor Thelin weaves together stories, examples, events, places, issues, and themes, to create a fascinating and highly engaging tapestry that illuminates the accomplishments, possibilities, and challenges deeply embedded in American higher education."
Ann E. Austin, Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education and Associate Dean for Research, College of Education, Michigan State University, USA
"American Higher Education offers a lively, sweeping overview of the opportunities and challenges facing colleges and universities, past and present. Drawing on up-to-date examples, John Thelin outlines the dilemmas that key university stakeholders face on matters ranging from instruction to innovation, financial aid to medical facilities, athletics to governance, and student life to sponsored research. With an enduring sense of educational values, including equity and access, Thelin offers readers a view of colleges and universities that will rivet, confound, and occasionally hearten all those interested in this crucial sector of American life."
Catherine Epstein, Dean of the Faculty and Winkley Professor of History, Amherst College, USA
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"[This book] features many new elements, including reworked chapters on enrollment management and the uneven enrollment decline experienced by different kinds of institutions, the campus building boom that’s left many institutions financially vulnerable, and the evolution of intercollegiate athletics in the Name, Image and Likeness era.
Any higher education book by Thelin is cause for celebration, and this updated edition is no exception."
Michael T. Nietzel, "Some Of 2023’s Best Higher Education Books", Forbes
